‘The Housing Shortage’ is unlikely to be solved by the thousands new new-build estates (I counted five that I hadn’t seen before, on my first post-all-this trip to Bicester last week). If you can afford a house there, even an ‘affordable’ one, you’re unlikely to be part of the shortage. It’s rental properties we need, but are unlikely to get as being and becoming a landlord has become increasingly difficult and expensive. No tax breaks, impossible to get rid of dodgy tenants and, unless you buy new, you may have to spend a fortune on energy efficiency. Who’s in charge of all this? Ah, the Minister for Levelling Up. Maybe he’s still stuck in that lift.
“John Lewis foray into BTR could result in losses of £57m”
I did predict a while ago that Waitrose Homes rather than Waitrose Home Deliveries could be the future. John Lewis were probably the most benign big business to decide to go into the housing rental market, a move which could swing things away from the unpredictability of the mass of private landlords who dominate the sector.
